I have over 14 years of experience building high-performance connectivity and trading systems in C++, working in companies similar to HRT. On the face of it, I'm more than qualified for this role.

HRT has a standardized process, which meant I had to go through the same interview hoops as a grad hire. Generally, an experienced candidate is at a disadvantage in these situations, as they are quite academic in nature. However, if that's their process, then fine. The junior staff interviewing me seemed friendly.

Eventually, I got to talk to a senior engineer. He is one of the most arrogant developers I've come across, and he wanted to grill me about the details of how the Java garbage collector works, even though the term 'Java' is nowhere on my CV. Obviously, I was not able to satisfy his questions, and a day of interviews was brought to an abrupt halt.

Seriously, HRT, what the actual f***? One of the worst candidate experiences of my life.

Several online coding problems in real-time.